Hampshire Individual Championship 2000

Round 6

Well what joys would the last round give us, with the tournament already won by IM James Sherwin, there did not seem much to fight for. This was true on board two which saw Fraser McLeod and Jeremy Fraser Mitchell draw after two moves and go and play golf! Still this did guarantee them joint second. 

They were joined on 4 points by reigning champion Dominic Tunks, when he defeated Mike Yeo (see pic). All in all not a great tournament for Mike Yeo, but it was good to see players like MIke entering the tournament again. Hopefully next year some of the stronger players who used to play, will return. This game reached a rook and pawn ending, which both players were trying to win. In the end Dominic battled through to take joint second place. Play through the game with the Game Viewer.

As to board one, it seemed that James Sherwin was trying to get 6/6 as no quick draw had been agreed between him and Jessie Gilbert. This was not surprising as the difference in grade between the two was 59 points, plus James Sherwin had White.  White soon had a small advantage, but Jessie Gilbert defended extremely well and did what no-one else had done all weekend, not losing to James Sherwin. Now that I have gone through the games played by James Sherwin, he never seemed to get a huge advantage out of the opening. What he did do, was to play the middle to end game far better than his opponents, his nerves also proved very strong. When other players got to a crucial position they seemed to play the wrong move and were soon losing. This is something that happens to lower graded player quite often. In my two losses in this tournament, at crucial times I played the wrong move against a stronger player, after achieving a position that was quite equal. Anyway, back in the game Jessie Gilbert achieved the draw, by not cracking after being put under intense pressure. The final position was as diagram 1, with James Sherwin playing White.  Play through the game using the Game Viewer.

The final positions were therefore determined (see below). In conclusion the tournament was a success, with improved numbers and a superior venue. This all bodes will for the future, as it is hoped the tournament can grow into a far larger one, which the current venue can certainly accommodate.